La Vie En Rose
by TiredOfBeingNice
Summary: The one where Benny — playboy and Mr. Sunshine himself — begins to see the world in a love-glazed screen, and the gang goes through a hilarious adventure to find the culprit.


**disclaimer: i don't own mbav or its characters (but now you see that i probably can if i want to :P), but i own this silly story. i also don't own "la vie en rose" by édith piaf. and if any of the science stuff is wrong, it's probably because i'm not a scientist.**

" _ **la vie en rose"**_

' _ **love through rose-tinted glasses'**_

* * *

"And then, he went _ka-powie_ on his face!" Rory exclaims, waving his arms animatedly in front of Ethan as they walk down the school halls. Ethan awkwardly grasps onto his backpack strap.

"Yeah, I know," Ethan says, faking enthusiasm. "I was there when you watched it."

Rory considers the statement before nodding. "Oh yeah…"

"Hey, dorks," Erica says, and Ethan jumps, slightly unnerved.

"Erica, we talked about this," Ethan groaned. "Saying 'hey dorks' is not a good enough warning, so you can't just go jumping in on—"

"Hey, dorks!" Sarah chirps, walking in on their conversation. Ethan smiles.

"Hey, Sarah," he says dreamily, practically melting. Erica rolls her eyes.

"I rest my case before I even state it," Erica mutters. Rory looks at Erica excitedly.

"Erica, you know Ethan and I were talking about the movie last night, where the guy went all _ka—"_

"Yes, Rory, I know," Erica grits out through her teeth. "I was there when you watched it too."

"Really?"

"You made everyone watch it," Sarah says sarcastically.

"It wasn't even a good movie," Ethan cuts in.

"It was like a clichéd, cop-buddy film," Erica adds. Rory's eyes widen.

"How _dare_ yo— wait, Benny wasn't there! Aha!"

Erica looks at Ethan and mutters, "Are you sure he doesn't have some attention-span problem or something?"

"Erica, be nice," Sarah hisses through her teeth. Ethan frowns.

"Benny was there for, like, half the movie," Ethan recalls. Sarah nods.

"Didn't he leave because of some...thing he needed for his grandma?" Sarah asks. "Did you ever hear what this 'thing' was?"

Erica crosses her arms. "I don't care; it's about the spell-dork. Can we talk about something else?"

"Do you have any nickname for us other than dork?" Ethan asks. "Like, how do you even distinguish us from one another?"

"Spell-dork, Count Dorkula, and...dreadfully-normal-dork," Erica answers. Rory nods.

"Sounds about right to me!" Rory chirps. Ethan rolls his eyes.

"So you haven't seen Benny since last night?" Sarah asks inquisitively. "Do you think he's okay?" Ethan shrugs.

"It's probably not a big deal," he replies feebly. "Maybe he needed to do something for his grandma again, or had some homework. Besides, how stupid can someone get on a five minute walk home?"

"I'm about to answer your question right _now,"_ Erica interrupts, motioning to something happening behind him. Ethan frowns and turns around, before blinking confusedly.

"Benny?" Ethan asks as his friend stumbles through the hall. The three vampires exchange looks and Rory goes and helps him.

At closer glance, Benny almost looks drunk. His eyes are wide, and his hair is all over the place. He's wearing the same shirt as yesterday, with newfound crinkles in its material.

"Are you okay?" Sarah asks, concerned.

"Are you wasted?" Erica asks smugly in unison, crossing her arms. "Nice."

Sarah nudges Erica sharply, and it cues Benny's dreamy sigh.

"I met," He pauses to grin, "the prettiest girl."

"Really," Sarah deadpans, crossing her arms. "Let me guess. Is it Veronica from last week, or Jessie from the week before?"

"Her name is Raven," he slurs, "and I asked her to marry me."

" _What?_ " Erica says in disbelief, cocking her head forward. Benny nods with a goofy smile, throwing an empty velvet box at Ethan. He fumbles with it and looks up at Benny.

"And she said yes."

"Wow!" Rory says to break the astonished silence. "That's never happened before!"

Everyone just stands there, standing in front of the spellmaster.

"I'm waiting for the punchline," Ethan mutters.

"Punchline?" Rory asks confusedly. "Why would there be a punchline?"

"Because this _has_ to be a joke," Ethan says, not taking his eyes off Benny.

"You're panicking," Rory states dumbly. Ethan whips his head toward Rory and looks at him, slightly annoyed.

"I am," he nearly screeches, "join me, will you?"

"You're not being serious...are you?" Sarah says to Benny slowly. Erica shakes her head.

"Of course he's not being serious," Erica answers for him. "He doesn't have a buck in his wallet to pay for my lunch, let alone a twenty-four carat ring."

"Twenty-five," Benny corrects lightly, and Erica's jaw drops. "Grandma helped me out a lil'. She seems like she will make it for the wedding, right?"

"Why wouldn't sh— Benny!" Rory exclaims. Benny promptly ignores him and looks at Ethan, giving him a big hug.

"E," he says in their embrace, "you gotta be my best man."

Ethan stiffens. "W-What?"

"Yeah, what?" Rory exclaims at the same time. "If anything, _I_ should be your best man!"

"There isn't going to be a best man," Ethan says, pulling out of the hug. "Benny, when did you say you met this girl?"

"Yesterday," Benny answers, as if the memory alone made him happy. "After I left your house. I just ran into her and...and—"

"Ka-powie!" Rory finishes off giddily, and Erica bites her lip to keep her from screaming.

"Are you seriously saying that you are getting married to a girl you just met _twelve hours ago?_ " Sarah asks incredulously. Benny nods.

"Aren't the best decisions made in twelve hours?" Benny retorts dreamily.

"Yeah, the stupid ones," Erica mutters. Ethan shakes his head, still a bit confused from the sudden proposition from his love-sick friend.

The bell rings to save them, and Benny grins.

"Well that's me!" he chirps. "I'll see you guys at lunch, 'kay?"

He turns around and leaves before anyone can say anything. The four stare at him, almost awestruck.

"He's skipping like a fucking schoolgirl," Erica says in disbelief. Ethan shakes his head.

"Yeah, there's something definitely wrong about this."

"I know!" Rory exclaims. "Why would he pick _you_ to be his best man?"

Erica, Ethan, and Sarah exchange looks in a collective disappointment. The three break off, leaving Rory standing at the lockers, confused, before he leaves as well.

* * *

"Maybe it's April Fool's day," Ethan rationalizes. "Maybe it's actually April 1st. What day is it today?"

"Not April 1st," Sarah deadpans, rolling her eyes. "Maybe he sniffed his own love potion and it has some weird aspect of this girl."

"I'm with Sarah on this one," Erica says, picking at a soggy french fry on her plate. "There is no way that a girl was _that_ interested in a dork — let alone a dork she met twelve hours ago."

"I think it's great!" Rory chirps, reaching over to grab some of Erica's fries. Everyone stares at him, and when he looks up with a mouthful of french fries, he adds, "Whaf?"

"Aren't a little unnerved by this whole situation?" Ethan asks in disbelief. Rory shrugs, leaning back in his chair.

"Wehfl," he says through a full mouth before swallowing, "I don't know why you guys _are_ nerved by the whole thing. Like, Benny's getting married! Isn't that exciting?"

"He's a sophomore, Rory," Ethan points out. "He's a sixteen year old. I don't even think it's legal."

"Love isn't law," Rory retorts, and scoffs, "Some best man you are."

Sarah groans. "Don't tell me you are supportive of all this just because you want to be Benny's best man."

"I spent all English class writing a speech for the reception!"

"There won't be a reception because there won't be a wedding!" Erica snaps, right before they hear a familiar sigh.

They all turn around to see Benny melting in his spot at the sight of them.

"Hey," he says, stretching the word out as he waltzes over to them, tray in his hands. "Hello friends!"

Everyone mumbles an indecipherable 'hello' back — except for Rory, of course, who waves like a cheerleader — and Benny sits down in one swift motion.

"It's like everything he does is a fucking waltz," Erica mutters, reluctantly taking a fry. Benny doesn't hear her. He puts his hand in his chin and looks at his friends brightly.

"Now, I want you to meet someone really special," he says, and he turns around. Everyone follows his direction and their jaws nearly drop.

True to her name, almost everything about Raven is black; her silky hair, her jeans, and any accessory on her. She was wearing black eyeliner and dark purple lipstick that matched a dark purple shirt with a black skeleton on it. The most noticeable thing about her was the short purple cape she wore, bounded around her by a shiny black pebble.

"Is that Raven from _Teen Titans_?" Rory asks as she walks over to their table, keeping a stoned face.

"She looks like she raided Hot Topic," Erica mutters boredly. Ethan and Sarah stay in silence and watch as Benny follows her every move like a puppy — from the moment she neared their table, to the moment she sat down.

"Guys," he says dreamily, "this is Raven."

"Hey," she says in a monotone voice, picking at her salad with her fork.

"Wow, she sounds like a hoot," Sarah says sarcastically, not taking her eyes off Raven. Ethan wasn't looking at Raven herself, but rather the diamond ring on her finger.

"So you're actually engaged to Benny," Ethan says, and Raven nods wordlessly. Benny sighs dreamily.

"Yeah she is," he cheers happily. "This is my fiancée. The future Mrs. Weir."

"I can't believe you're changing your last name to Weir," Erica deadpans. "How bad is your last name?"

"Erica!" Sarah scolds. Raven barely blinks.

"Trump," she answers, voice monotone. Ethan's eyes widen.

"Your name is...Raven Trump?" he asks in shock. Erica gulps.

"Raven Weir doesn't sound so bad," she says quickly. Rory shrugs.

"Better than Hit—"

"Dude!" Ethan scolds loudly, and Rory looks at him quizzically.

"Raven, you look amazing today," Benny says dreamily, watching her eat her salad slowly. "Has anyone ever told you that?"

"I think you have," Erica groans, "Twenty times."

"Don't listen to Erica," Benny tells Raven, who doesn't seem like she cares. "Vampires are always a little sarcastic."

(Ethan now wonders if it's possible to choke on air.)

"Benny!" the three vampires scream. Benny waves his hand dismissively at them, blowing a raspberry.

"Don't sweat it, guys," he says. "She already knows that I am a spellmaster."

" _What?!"_ Ethan screeches.

Erica nudges him and hisses, "Speak a little louder, will you?! I didn't know you wanted the attention of the whole cafeteria!"

Benny rolls his eyes playfully and grins. "Ethan, you're being overdramatic — see, Raven, he's a Seer, so he's always dramatic about silly things."

Ethan looks like he is going to explode. Surprisingly, this seemed to intrigue Raven, and she looks up from her salad.

"Seer?" she says in a single tone.

"Yeah, he can look in the future and stuff!" Benny says excitedly. He faces Ethan and adds, "Do you think you can see if it is raining on the day of our wedding? We're thinking Saturday next week, because there's no school…"

"Benny, I'm no—"

"Ethan would love to do it!" Sarah says quickly. Ethan whips his head towards her.

"What? No!" Ethan exclaims. Sarah glares at him.

"Just do it," she grits through her teeth, making sure Benny was too distracted by Raven to listen. "Maybe we can see what happened the night before."

Ethan looks at Benny, who nods enthusiastically, and Ethan sighs.

"Who do I have to touch to see the weather on Saturday—"

"Oh for fuck's sake," Erica mutters, grabbing Ethan's wrist and slapping it down on Benny's arm. Before Ethan could open his mouth, he felt his vision go white.

…

 _he's whistling like an idiot down the street._

 _he wasn't sure he has ever been this immersed in a vision before — maybe it was because he had a crowd this time. but he felt himself on the street, and he could see the silhouette of his friend walking down the sidewalk. he's overshadowed by the night sky, but the artificial amber glow of streetlights illuminated a clear path._

 _he tunes back in to benny, who is on his phone. he hears him mouth "okay, grandma!" and pockets his phone. he turns the opposite way of his house and instead goes down the road to the local plaza where ethan remembered was home to the alleyway they found sarah in._

 _he watches benny head to the twenty-four hour convenience store across the street before stopping at a store. the lights illuminate his frowning face._

" _are you stealing that?"_

…

Ethan blinks, and the first thing he sees as his vision clears up is Raven watching him closely, as if every move he made was under inspection.

"So?" Benny's voice snaps him back into reality. Ethan looks at Sarah, who is staring at him inquisitively. Ethan gulps.

"Sunny skies," he answers hesitantly, and watches his grin grow.

* * *

Ethan slams his locker close as school finishes, and as soon as he does, he is met by Sarah's face. He jumps, and closes his eyes.

"Okay, do I need to put a bell on you vampires or something?" Ethan says slowly. "Like, I let you do it this morning, but now it's just too much."

"Bell?" she echoes, and Ethan sighs. She shakes her head.

"No, we're not talking about that," she says, crossing her arms and leaning against the locker beside his. "What did you see?"

Ethan frowns, and Sarah rolls her eyes. "In your vision during lunch?"

Ethan's eyes widen and he hisses, "Why don't you say that louder for the people in the back of the hall, will you?"

"Relax, geez," she mutters, and asks again, "What did you see?"

Ethan looks around hesitantly and sighs.

"I didn't see much," he says, "but I saw Benny getting off a call with his grandma, and he went into town and towards the convenience store across the street. Before he crossed the street, he stopped in front of this store, and he asked somebody if they were stealing something — I'm not sure what."

Sarah remains quiet for a minute and mutters, "Didn't see much, my ass."

Ethan rolls his eyes and pulls out his bag, a few textbooks, and his jacket. He closes the locker and walks alongside Sarah.

"So who do you think he was talking to?" Sarah asks. "Raven?"

"I don't know," Ethan sighs. "I feel like I can't really tell from just that one experience."

Sarah groans. "Come on, Ethan. You aren't seriously telling me that you have absolutely _nothing,_ do you?"

"Have what?" Rory chirps from behind him, and Ethan jumps for the umpeenth time that day. Sarah seemingly remains unfazed.

"Jesus Christ," Ethan mutters. Rory grins obliviously and walks with the two.

"What are we talking about?"

"Benny's recent engagement," Ethan says sarcastically. Rory's eyes light up.

"Yeah, I just spoke to him about it!" Rory says excitedly as the turn a corner into a crowded hall. "We made a compromise that if I wasn't going to be the best man, I was gonna at least be the master of ceremony at the reception!"

Sarah groans. Rory cheers over her, "MC Monster Bat is back in business, baby!"

Ignoring Rory, Sarah faces Ethan and asks, "Do you think you can have another vision?"

Ethan shrugs, trying to mask out Rory's loud cheers and hi-fives with random people.

"I don't know," he replies honestly. "I was talking to Benny's grandma about the sudden intensity of my visions, and she said that my...powers were growing stronger, or something. But I can't have too many at a time before I burn myself out and the only thing I can see is a fizzle and a spark."

"Fizzle and spark," Rory says, "good idea. Do you think Raven would be the fizzle or the spark…?"

"I think she would be the sound of a deflating balloon," Erica suddenly says, and Ethan looks as if he was about to punch someone.

"Bells," he grits through his teeth as Erica boredly joins in the conversation. "I'm actually fucking considering it."

"So what do you propose we do?" Sarah asks, trying to block out everyone but Ethan.

"Propose!" Rory laughs. "Good one!"

"The only thing I can think of is if I can somehow channel into Benny's subconscious memory and using my powers, I don't know...see what he remembers from the night before? It's actually scientifically proven that memories are never really forgotten, but rather—"

"Blah, blah, blah, _boring,"_ Erica cuts in, almost annoyed, and Ethan rolls his eyes. "None of this stuff is helping spell-dork. Why don't you just ask him?"

"It's not that simple," Ethan says. "He can't get past 'did I tell you how Raven's hair shines in the moonlight' before melting like an ice cube."

"Okay, so we just scan his brain or something," Rory says.

"Yeah, because we have the equipment for that, you air-head," Erica mutters sarcastically. Ethan's eyes widen.

"Actually, we do have the equipment for that," Ethan says slowly. "Remember how we scanned Rory's brain when testing if Serena's song had any effects on people? We could scan Benny's brain to see any significant evidence of changes in his brain waves, and then reprogram it to tap into his subconscious memory."

"Sounds nerdy," Erica says.

"Sounds awesome!" Rory cheers at the same time. Sarah crosses her arms.

"Okay, so say you can do all that...reprogramming stuff," Sarah says. "You don't have access to technology that can display his subconscious."

"But I am a Seer," Ethan says confidently. "If we can somehow trigger that memory whilst Benny is strapped into the scanner, I can probably have a more detailed vision without being burnt out as quickly."

Sarah frowns. "Okay, one more problem — how are we going to get Benny away from Raven? It's pretty obvious that he is attached to her like a loyal puppy."

Ethan thinks about it for a minute. "We need someone who can...distract her."

Sarah and Ethan look at Erica, who shakes her head at the sudden realization.

"No, no, no, no, _no."_

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, _yes!"_ Sarah retorts with a smug smile.

"Why can't brain-dead geek over here do it? He wouldn't mind spending time with a girl for once," Erica protests. Ethan sighs.

"I know you are some hidden geek," Ethan starts off, "and I would love your technical assistance. However, I don't trust Rory to go anywhere near Raven — if she did anything to Benny, she could definitely do worse to Rory."

"It's true," Rory says. "My mom says I am manipulated easily. Of course, this led to her never letting me go outside…"

"Just take her to the mall or something," Sarah says to Erica, who pouts and crosses her arms. "We'll call you when we're all done."

Erica huffs. "Fine. But you owe me."

"Big time," Ethan assures.

"And if I get hungry, she pays for food."

"Um, sure— wait a minute, what does that mean?" Erica bats her eyelashes innocently, hiding her fangs behind her hand.

"Have fun being nerds," Erica says coyly, dropping her hand to reveal a glisten of pearly white fangs before strutting off. Rory's eyes light up.

"I'll speed to your house and set up the equipment!" Rory chirped. Before anyone could stop him, he speeds off, and Ethan looks at Sarah in concern.

"Should I have let him go to my house alone?"

"I'll go follow him," Sarah says quickly, and before she leaves, she adds, "Do you...want a lift?"

Ethan's stomach does a flip, and he smiles nervously.

"I'll walk," he says weakly. Sarah smiles smugly.

"Suit yourself," she says with a wink, and is gone in a flash. Ethan looks in the direction she left and sighs — what did he get himself into?

* * *

Rory is fiddling with a wrench happily and Ethan is frantically typing on his computer. Sarah boredly watches the afternoon pass by through Ethan's window and sighs.

"How much longer is this thing going to take?" Sarah groans. "I swear we've been sitting here for hours."

"First of all," Ethan says, not taking his eyes off the screen, "it's only been thirty minutes."

"Thirty minutes of my Friday afternoon," she retorts. Ethan rolls his eyes.

"Second of all, this would go by a lot faster if you helped me," Ethan says. Sarah looks at him incredulously.

"I don't know what you're doing."

"Yeah, neither does Rory."

Sarah focuses her attention on Rory, who is waving the wrench in front of him as if it was Superman itself. Sarah sighs, propping herself off the bed and moving beside Ethan's desk.

"Okay, so I got the programming done," Ethan explains. "Now it's a matter of figuring out how we're going to get Benny hooked up to the machine."

"Can't you say that you're testing out some virtual reality headset or something?" Sarah asks, crossing her arms. "His brain seems muddled enough."

"With love," Ethan points out. "That doesn't necessarily mean that his morals are out of the picture."

"Morals," Sarah deadpans. "Isn't he getting married to a girl he met half a day ago _and_ planning a wedding when he is in high school?"

"Touché," Ethan says, "but Benny is still Benny. He'll probably want in on this stuff, or he'll be suspicious. We need to...numb his brain a bit. Make him literally more open-minded."

Rory's eyes widen. "I got a brain-freeze gun at the Fantastic Hextroid convention last weekend!"

"You actually _bought_ a brain-freeze gun?" Ethan exclaims in shock, spinning in his chair to face the blond vampire. Sarah scoffs.

"Sounds like bullshit," she comments, hand on hip. Rory shakes his head.

"No, it actually works!" Rory says excitedly. "I tried it out on Ethan as soon as I got it!"

"Yeah, and— wait, you told me I just slept in last Saturday!" Ethan exclaims, and Rory winks. Sarah sighs.

"Okay, Rory, get your...weird...gun thing." Rory grins.

"On it!" Rory chirps, and speeds out of Ethan's room. In mere seconds, he returns, holding a small gun in his hands. It was transparent and glowed red and blue. Sarah blinks, a bit surprised.

"Looks pretty 2024, don't you think?" Sarah notes. Rory nods excitedly.

"I mean, Fantastic Hextroid is all about going to the future and killing all the tiny aliens hell-bent on destroying the earth with the help of these brain-numbing gu—"

"Didn't ask for a summary," Sarah cuts him off, and Rory shrugs. Ethan puts down his phone.

"Well I just texted Benny and he said he's on his way," Ethan says, leaning back in his seat, looking at the machine in the middle of his room.

"How'd you get him to come here?" Sarah asks curiously. Ethan shrugs, standing up and re-evaluating the wires.

"Told him we should have a bachelor party," he says nonchalantly. Rory grins.

"Oh yeah, baby!" he cheers. "Is Sarah gonna strip for us?"

"Ew, no!" Sarah exclaims. Ethan looks at Rory wordlessly and hears the doorbell ring. He grins.

"Alright, that must be him," he says. "Rory, position yourself...somewhere. Sarah, get the headpiece ready. I'm gonna greet Benny and bring him up, okay? We have to do this very quickly."

"Yes sir!" Rory says, and accidentally pulls the trigger on the gun. He shoots the ceiling, and Sarah and Ethan scream at the bits of the ceiling that fall. Rory grins weakly. Ethan sighs, and goes out of his room and down the stairs.

"Just a minute!" he yells.

When he opens the door, Benny is holding a case full of beer bottles and is wearing a party hat. A party blower is in between his teeth. Benny blows it happily, and it grazes Ethan's nose. Ethan remains unamused.

"Hey, best man!" he says cheerily, skipping into the house. "I am really glad you decided to host a bachelor party! I knew you were the right choice."

"Sure," Ethan says slowly, closing the door and following Benny up the stairs.

"I mean, this is going to be totally awesome," Benny continues. "Say, is Sarah here? Because I didn't have enough money for a stripper, and sh—"

"Eat shit, tiny aliens!" Rory yells, jumping out of nowhere and hitting Benny on the forehead with a blast from the gun at the top of the stairs. Ethan's eyes widen.

"Rory!" he yells. "You couldn't wait until he actually got _in_ the room?"

"Sorry!" Rory says, putting the gun behind his back and smiles nervously. "I kind of just got excited."

Benny's jaw drops as soon as the blast hits him, and he lets out a low groan. His words draw out in a slur and gets lost in his daze. He stumbles over his feet. Ethan's eyes widen.

"He's gonna fall!"

"Catch him!" Rory replies, clearly panicking.

"You're the one who can't die!" Ethan retorts in frustration. "Why don't you just catch him!"

Benny sways back and forth, his eyes rolling back, groaning indecipherable words under his breath.

"Ethan, catch him!" Rory yells again.

"Ethan!" Benny slurs, and before Ethan could respond, Benny gives out and falls into Ethan's arms. Ethan yelps and they both tumble down the stairs and slide in front of the door.

Ethan groans, rubbing his head and trying to get Benny off him. His friend was full knocked out, his jaw slack and his mouth hanging open.

"Good job!" Rory says from the top of the stairs. Ethan can make out Sarah, who must've joined them when she heard the noise, and he could hear her scolding him.

"He could've died!"

"Well he obviously didn't," Rory replies. He looks at Ethan, who manages to get Benny off him. Benny is on the ground, unconscious, and Ethan takes in a deep breath, brushing himself off.

"The machine's all ready," Sarah informs.

"Just bring him up here, buddy," Rory says at the same time, and Sarah and Ethan look at him incredulously. He frowns, and says, "What?"

"You're the vampire!" Ethan yells, clearly annoyed.

Rory smiles dumbly. "Oh yeah…"

Rory speeds down the stairs and helps Ethan lift Benny up. Benny snores softly, and Rory smiles, tapping his nose.

"That's right, baby-Benny," he cooes. "You just stay asleep while we tap into your subconscious and convert your memory waves onto Ethan's computers as a video to see what happened last night and to totally _not_ post it on YouTube."

Ethan looks at Rory, annoyed. "Less talk, more walk, _please._ "

"Right."

Rory carries Benny up, humming a lullaby quietly, and Ethan trudges up the stairs after him.

* * *

Erica digs her hands in the pockets of her sweater, sneaking a glance at Raven. She is chewing gum loudly, and every ten seconds, Erica hears a 'pop' that sounds more bored than she was.

"So, Raven," Erica says, "What do you think of Benny?"

"Okay, I guess," she says nonchalantly, twisting the ring on her finger with her left hand. "He's...pretty sweet."

' _Ugh, she sounds like a dead MCR fan,'_ Erica thinks bitterly.

"He's pretty cute, huh?" Erica presses. "I mean, I never really said that out loud — I'm sure you had some other reason that you decided to say 'I do', am I right?"

Raven stops and stares at Erica. "Well...he is cute, I guess."

She keeps walking, and Erica curiously follows her.

"How'd you two meet?"

Raven smiles smugly, the first she's ever seen her smile.

"Didn't think you wanted my whole life story," she mutters with a sly grin. Erica flashes a fake smile.

"Just wanted to know everything about the bride-to-be. Benny's my…" She closes her eyes and finishes reluctantly, "friend. I just want to know more about the girl who captured his heart."

Raven shrugs, fiddling with the black pebble binding her cape.

"Met last night," she says as if it was nothing, "He was going to the convenience store down the street. I was...there. He brought me home to his place and I made him some cookies. He popped the question in his living room."

Erica gulps. "Don't you...think it's kind of quick? I mean, no judgement here, but don't you think you two are moving kind of fast?"

This time, Raven flashes her pearly white teeth, and Erica half-expected to see fangs.

"People do things when they're in love," Raven says, and Erica blinks at the profound statement.

"So," Erica says after an astonished silence, "do you want to go to Hot Topic?"

* * *

"Alright, easy there," Ethan instructed, and Rory gently placed Benny on the seat. He let out a small groan, and Sarah smiles a bit.

"It's funny how childish he looks when he's sleeping," she comments, and Ethan doesn't look up from his computer, but smiles smugly.

"Careful, Sarah," he says, "he's practically a married man."

Sarah rolls her eyes and Ethan tells Rory to put the headpiece on Benny's head. He complies, and when Ethan is all set up, he pulls himself away from the computer set.

"Alright, so on the count of three, I'm going to go into a vision," he explains. "I'm going to watch his memory of last night, and his cerebral memory impulses will be converted into an audible video so you can see exactly what I am seeing."

"Sounds good!" Rory says. "Though you're going to have to explain why Benny has memories of cereal…"

Ethan rolls his eyes, and Sarah nods.

"Do it," she says, and Ethan takes a deep breath. As soon as his hand makes contact with Benny's shoulder, he hears the whirrs of beeps and buzzing, but it's drowned away by the sou _nd of a car._

…

" _are you stealing that?"_

 _ethan is standing in the same spot as he was before, but can hear a faint buzz in the background — the machine must be doing its magic._

" _umm...no." ethan recognizes that voice — it's raven's._

 _he can practically see benny's smirk beneath the heavy layers of shadows._

" _this_ _seems like stealing to me, princess," he says smoothly, and ethan instinctively blushes, as if he benny was talking to him; as if he was intruding some private moment._

" _i'm something you haven't seen before, princess," benny says again. "you really don't want to mess with me. so i suggest you put the money down, and—"_

" _your place?" one twitch of her finger and benny lifted his chin._

" _sure."_

 _ethan is in some kind of shock — benny's voice cracks an octave higher, and his eyes glaze red under the night darkness. raven extends her hand forward, lifting a bit of her cape with her._

" _raven."_

" _benny," he replies readily. "my house?"_

" _as i said," she says, and walks alongside him._

 _ethan follows, keeping a distance, despite the fact that they couldn't see him. when they go inside benny's dark house, the spellmaster turns on the lights and raven adjusts herself on the couch. he blinks when the lights turned on._

" _how'd...how'd we get here?"_

" _you brought me here," raven says as if it was nothing. "cookies?"_

" _might as well, as i have a feeling i'm gonna stay up to interrogate you or something," benny mumbles, and raven snaps her fingers. to both benny and ethan's surprise, sparks fly and a batch of cookies appears on the table._

" _you're a—"_

" _you're one too," raven cuts him off with a smug smile. "eat."_

 _benny complies, though ethan could see the hesitation on his face. he finishes it in one go — typical benny — and raven leans forward, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands._

" _so, princey," she purrs, "interrogate me."_

 _benny's eyes glaze red, but it lingers for longer and ominously disappears as benny breaks down into a grin._

" _you're beautiful," benny says, moving closer to her, knocking over the empty plate of cookies. raven smiles, stands up, and circles behind benny. she kisses his neck and with every touch her lips place on his neck, he slumps into her embrace and his breath hitches._

" _am i now?" she says smugly. benny nods, eyes closed and sucking in a breath as she pulls back from his neck and whispers words in his ears._

" _marry me," he says, snapping his fingers and making his grandma's old ring box on her bookshelf float up in the air and towards him. "this is my grandma's wedding ring. she was gonna pass it down to me when i found the one, and—"_

" _of course i'll be yours, baby," she says to his needy pleas, "only on one condition."_

 _ethan stands there, horrified. benny sighs._

" _anything," he readily promises. raven purses her lips._

" _i can get away with_ _ **murder,**_ _" she whispers, and benny seems to get the message._

" _i'll love you no matter what you do," he replies, voice hazy and floaty. ethan bites back a frustrated scream — not only because of benny's sudden willingness, but because dammit, raven was a little sexy — and raven stands up._

" _gonna rob that store now," raven says. "let me off the hook?"_

 _benny grins. "interrogation over."_

" _be good," raven purrs, "and i'll introduce you to bad cop."_

 _ethan couldn't take it anymore. he imagines pulling himself out and the room is sucked into a single thought before—_

…

He reels his hand back as if he was burnt. Sarah quickly throws the headpiece of Benny, and Rory is closing his eyes, turning away from the computer screen.

"Do you think Benny knows any mind-bleaching spells?" Sarah groans.

"Someone shoot me with the brain-freeze gun," Rory says. "I did not see that, I did not see that, I was not turned on by that, I was not tur—"

"Rory," Sarah scolds, not as surprised, but still mildly disgusted. Rory frowned.

"Hey, Ethan looked like he was about to have a boner when she pulled that TV show line," Rory protests, and Sarah looks at Ethan quizzically. He blushes helplessly, and Sarah shakes her head.

"Call Erica and tell her to come here," Ethan says to Sarah. She nods, and leaves the room. Ethan faces Rory.

"Rory, we're gonna run some tests." He moves to his laptop and changes the screen from the single memory video to a scan of Benny's brain activity.

"Ooh, like real scientists!" Rory cheers. Ethan nods, reading the scans.

"Hey, look at this." He motions Rory to come closer to the screen. "There's an increase in Benny's neuronal activity in several of his brain regions, but mainly in the amygdala. What's really interesting though is that his prefrontal cortex is pretty much...blurred.

"I'm going to pretend I know what that means," Rory says slowly. Ethan sighs.

"The amygdala is basically the centre of the limbic system in Benny's brain that controls his emotions, such as love — almost like the main control panel," Ethan explains. "His prefrontal cortex is in charge of making decisions in response to that emotion and functions in impulse control, along with control and organization of emotional reactions. However, that part of his brain seems like it's under the influence of some kind of drug."

"What kind of drug do you think it is?"

Ethan scrunches his face in thought and opens his browser on the laptop. His fingers fly across the screen and he scrolls through the results before clicking on a link.

"Whatcha lookin' for?" Rory asks, peering over Ethan's shoulder. Ethan frowns.

"Love drugs," Ethan says, "and if they actually exist."

"Like in Harry Potter?" Rory asks excitedly. Ethan shrugs.

"Not exactly…?" he says, unsure. "It says that there is a chemical hormone in our brains called pheromones — Benny used it in the love potion. It basically simulates the part of your brain that increases our feelings of longing and attraction."

"Sounds cool!" Rory chirps. "Where can I get some?"

Ethan ignores him. "There are some dodgy products that claim to increase the chances of someone liking you, but in my vision, Raven is a spellmaster."

"You think she had some of that dodgy stuff in the cookies he had?" Rory asks. "Maybe she just...spelled it. Enhanced it."

Ethan opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and thought about what Rory said. He looks at him, oddly surprised.

"That's...not too far-fetched," Ethan says slowly. Rory grins.

"See?" he exclaims. "I am a real scientist!"

Ethan sneaks a glance at Benny, who has seemingly curled up in his chair. Rory follows his glance and smiles.

"He's kind of cute when he's sleeping, huh?" Rory comments. "Like he could be holding a teddy bear or something."

Ethan blurts out, "Yeah, I had the utmost pleasure of seeing that position for more than ten years."

And for a split second, Ethan swears he sees Benny smile.

"Sounds gay." Rory's voice snaps him out of his thoughts, and Ethan is met with Rory's dumb smile. Ethan rolls his eyes.

"Nothing wrong with a little bromance," he mumbles. Rory opens his mouth to say something else, but his door opens and Sarah walks in.

"I called Erica," Sarah says. "She's coming after she makes some purchase at Hot Topic or something."

"Sounds like her from three years ago," Ethan says smugly.

"Did you guys find anyway?"

"Ethan has some bromance thing with Benny," Rory chirps, and Sarah raises an eyebrow at Ethan, who blushes bright red.

"Anyway, I—"

"Ethan, honey, dinner's...ready…" All three teens turn around to see Ethan's mom standing at the open door and blinking. Ethan smiles nervously.

"Science experiment," he says quickly.

"Is Benny unc—"

"Hi Mrs. Morgan!" Rory chirps, waving enthusiastically. Ethan's mom stares at the teens for a little longer and slowly closes the door. Ethan buries his face in his hand.

Suddenly, there's a knock at Ethan's window. Rory moves towards it and opens it, letting Erica fly in.

"Hey dorks," Erica says. She looks at Benny and says, "It looks like you're about to go full on mad-scientist with spell-dork. Anything new?"

"Ethan has some bromance thing with Be—"

"We have a few leads," Ethan cuts off Rory loudly.

Erica and Sarah crowd around the computer, and Ethan taps against the surface of the table.

"After doing some scans, we determined that Benny's amygdala was showing intense activity, but his prefrontal cortex is basically blurred out by what we think is magically induced-pheromones. And before you ask, that means—"

"Benny is showing high levels of emotions — most likely love — but he is not reacting as normally as he should be to it, and his decisions is being somewhat influenced a chemical hormone that has been enhanced by magic because Raven, as Sarah said you saw in your vision, is a spellmaster," Erica finishes off for him, and everyone stares at her.

"Um...yeah," Ethan says slowly. "That's exactly what I meant."

"Erica's a big nerd!" Rory teases. Erica crosses her arms.

"Am not," she huffed.

"Am...too!" Rory retorts.

"I took psychology courses in the summer," she says defensively.

"And that was because you fell in love with _Mind-Melter 78_ and its cool graphics and gameplay," Sarah says smugly. Erica looks at her with wide eyes.

"You swore you would never tell anyone about that!"

"You played _Mind-Melter 78?!"_ Rory exclaims, pointing a finger at her as if it was an accusation. Erica flashes her fangs at Rory to prove a point, and he shuts up.

Ethan clears his throat, and the chaos is settled. He sighs.

"So what we're trying to find is how we can reverse Raven's effect on Benny," he explains. "Which leads us to this question: what cancels out love?"

"Hate," Sarah says straight away. "Anger."

"Bingo," Ethan says, snapping his fingers.

"We just need to get Benny...mad?" Erica says, a bit confused. "How do we get Mr. Sunshine over here...mad?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Rory says as if it was obvious. "We pit him against me, Ethan, and maybe Erica in Mario Kart.

"Hey, why aren't I there?" Sarah asks incredulously. Rory rolls his eyes.

"Because you always go as Princess Peach and you always end up going backwards."

"Hey, Luigi's mansion is really dark, okay?"

"Guys, focus," Ethan says. "We have to figure this all out befo—"

"Ethan, are you coming out for dinner, or—" Everyone turns around for the second time to see Ethan's mom at the doorway again. She stares at Erica, and then says, "How did she get here?"

"Window," Rory says before anyone could dare speak. Ethan looks at Rory as if he was going to slap him, and Ethan's mom just takes in the situation: her son, who has rarely had any social interaction, has three people surrounding him as if he was a movie star, and his best friend strapped to a chair with wires hanging from his head.

"Dinner's in the oven," she says at last, and closes the door this time.

* * *

"So how are the wedding plans?" Ethan asks on Saturday, while he and Benny sit in the library with the three vampires. Benny leans forward, hand in his chin.

"Good," he practically swoons, "really good. Raven...she's doing great. I heard her and Erica went out to the mall — I think she's getting her wedding dress at Hot Topic?"

"Really?" Ethan says, smiling smugly. "Sounds...like her."

"Yeah, she's really good," Benny says again. "You know, E, I really think she's the one."

Ethan's heart stops. "Y-You do?"

"I do," he says. Ethan gulps.

"No you don't," he says firmly. Benny frowns.

"...what?"

"I don't approve," Ethan says simply, leaning back in his seat. Benny's eyes widen.

"B-But you are the best man!" Benny says, almost like a desperate cry. Erica raises her head up.

"You can't honestly believe that Raven likes you, do you spell-dork?" she chimes in on cue. "You're...spell-dork. Mr. Playboy. You toy with love as much as you do with your dolls."

Benny glares at her, a glint of red shining in his eyes. Ethan knows they're getting closer.

"Action figures, Erica," he grits out through his teeth. "We've been over this."

Suddenly, the doors of the library swing open and everyone turns around to see Raven standing in the entrance. Ethan stands up.

"Benny, honey?" she cooes, and Benny immediately runs towards her, going into her arms like a lost puppy.

"How did you find us," Ethan growls. Raven snaps her fingers and a spark flies out, which is seemingly enough for Ethan to shut up.

"She'll never love you!" Ethan shouts with sudden confidence. "Not...not with that hair!"

Benny gasps, hands flying to his hair.

"Take it back," he says, breaking out of Raven's grasp and walking towards Ethan. Raven looks almost nervous.

"Honey, it's not worth it," she says innocently, masking her frustration. She flashes a dreamy smile and adds, "How about we just _elope_ _instead_."

Rory's eyes widen when Benny turns around, and he realizes it wasn't working.

He suddenly yells, "But you love me, Raven!"

Everyone stares at Rory, not only because he was in a library, but because it was the most outlandish thing Rory has ever said.

"Rory?!" Erica hisses. He mouths, "trust me", and walks bravely towards Benny.

"W-What?" the spellmaster stutters, trying to contain his anger.

"Yup," Rory says, straightening up. "In fact, Raven and I are having an affair!"

Ethan's eyes widen, but before he could open his mouth to stop him, Sarah grabs his wrist.

"He has an idea," she whispers. "Play along."

"Y-You," Benny stuttered, eye literally twitching, " _what?!"_

"Now, honey," Raven says soothingly. "That isn't true."

Benny flinches at her touch, and Erica blurts out, "Yeah, that can't be true!"

All eyes are on Erica — including people outside their social circle, _fuck —_ and she gulps.

"B-Because she is in love with me."

Ethan's jaw drops open.

"Hot!" Rory says with wide eyes and a goofy grin. Sarah elbows him sharply. Raven looks like she is about to explode.

"ImeanIhavenothingagainstthatbecauseloveislove," Benny takes a breath, "but _what?!"_

"That's right!" Erica exclaims. "She says I kiss better than you do!"

Ethan watches everyone stared at the soap-opera that was happening in the corner of the library, but was too shocked to say anything against it.

"How _dare_ you!" Benny says, pointing his finger accusingly at Erica. "I cannot believe you would do that to me?"

"She said I had better hair!" Rory growls. "She said she likes _blondes."_

Benny gasps, hand over his heart. He stumbles a bit, letting out a low groan as he leans on the desk for support.

"S-She promised me brunettes and blondes were _even,_ " he manages to spit out. Raven glares at the gang with bright blue eyes.

" **You are not taking this away from me,"** she says in an inhumane voice. **"He is going to be** _ **mine."**_

"You spelled him because you didn't want to get caught?" Ethan speaks up, and Benny looks up. "He's not the best hero in town, you know!"

"Take...it back…," Benny growls, saying a spell under his breath and lifts Ethan up in the air by the neck. People around them looked too shocked to do anything, and the force that holds Ethan makes him gag.

"Ethan!" Sarah cries out.

"B-Benny," Ethan stutters, trying his best to breathe, "she...she doesn't love you!"

Benny winces, and the stream of magic holding Ethan up blinks out of existence slowly.

" **Stop it!"** Raven screams again, her voice demonically low. Ethan watches Benny's hand shake, and he knew the spell was almost gone.

"A-And you know, B-B?" he grits out, struggling for a breath. " _T-They are dolls."_

Benny groans again and loses his magical grasp off Ethan. He falls to the ground, gasping for air. The three vampires help him up, and Raven walks up to stand by Benny, whose eyes were flashing green and red. He raises his hand wordlessly, a ball of magic slowly starting to form. Raven grins.

"Benny, no!" Sarah yells.

Benny lets out a strangled moan and his arm wavers slowly. The ball of magic in the palm of his hand blinks on and off, as if struggling to stay on.

"I think you did it," Erica says. "I think you finally got it."

His eyes roll back and he collapses on the ground. Everyone exchanges looks and Rory goes to help him onto a chair. Sarah and Erica assist him, and Ethan limps after them.

They sit him down, and he slumps into the chair. A chorus of his name echoes in his ears.

"Are you okay?" is the first thing he can properly hear.

"What happened," he mutters under his breath. He squeezes his eyes shut and adds, "I-I was in love."

" **You** _ **idiots!"**_ Raven screeches. " **Do you know what you just did?!"**

"Yeah we did!" Rory cheers. "How do you like them cookies?"

Erica speeds up to Raven and punches her unconscious. She slumps in Erica's arms, and the blonde vampire grins.

"Wedding's off, bride-to-be," she singsongs. She faces her friends and says, "I say we get this bastard to Benny's grandma and sees if she has anything to about it. And even if she doesn't, jail doesn't sound too bad."

Ethan blinks, and is suddenly aware that everyone in the library was staring at them. He looks at the mess they made — books on the ground from when Benny knocked everything, chairs surrounding the table, and papers all over the carpet — and then stares at the awestruck people.

"Um…," Sarah says loudly when she realizes what Ethan was noticing, "aaaaand _cut_."

"What?" Ethan hisses. Sarah nudges him, telling him with his eyes to play along.

"Yup, that's a wrap, folks," she says, clapping her hands as if it was director's cut-board. "Good job. Erica, you need to step it up with the special effects because Ethan looked like he was fucking hanging from the ceiling."

"U-Uh, sure," Erica stutters.

"How about me?" Rory chirps. "How did I do?"

"Um, fine," Sarah says, dismissing him with a wave of her hand. She stares at everyone and yells, "Nothing to see here, folks. Just a short film in the making where you are all the stars."

Everyone remains quiet. Ethan looks at them.

"Aren't you gonna clap?" he asks loudly. "We're making you fucking famous!"

Everyone hesitantly claps, and Rory is clapping the loudest.

* * *

"I can't believe we got banned from the library," Rory continues to ramble. "If anything, we should be paid for that performance."

"I mean, we did destroy that corner forever," Sarah points out lightly.

"And possibly our reputations," Erica mutters.

Ethan enters from Benny's kitchen and gathers around the couch where the three vampires are sitting around Benny, who is quietly sipping coffee.

"Okay, so I called Benny's grandma," Ethan explains, "and she said that Raven can be judged by the Spellmaster Council, and if they can't do anything about it, I hooked up Raven to the machine we used and recorded all the footage of her stealing from the store and drugging Benny with the cookie. We can most likely sell it off as drugged by enhanced pheromones."

"There's a Spellmaster Council?" Rory echoes.

"Apparently," Ethan replies. "Do you think the pheromones thing will work though?"

"Couldn't care less," Erica answers. "We could just give the jury a...light suggestion."

"Erica," Sarah says with a roll of her eyes. Ethan looks at Benny and frowns.

"Are you okay?" he asks quietly. All eyes go on the spellmaster, and he shrugs.

"I'm fine for a guy who was going to get married to a walking-Hot-Topic-disaster," he mutters sarcastically, quietly scratching the surface of his cup. Ethan sighs.

"You couldn't do anything about it," Ethan reassures. Benny shrugs.

"I could see it all happen," he says, almost angrily. "Do you really think my moral compass would just switch directions that quickly?"

Everyone remains quiet.

"I was frustrated," he continues. "Angry. But I couldn't do anything about it because you know why? Because it felt like fucking love."

"Benny…"

"No, Ethan," Benny cuts him off, "that might've been my last chance at love."

"It wasn't love," Sarah points out. Benny looks down.

"I don't think anything I'll have will be love," he murmurs. Rory punches his shoulder playfully.

"What are you on about, B?" he chirps. "You got us."

"Well, some of us," Erica says, looking away. Benny smiles half-heartedly, and Ethan nods, patting Benny's back.

"Plus, now you don't have to wake up to your girl on Tumblr with eye bags and eyeliner," Rory jokes, and Benny chuckles softly.

"Besides, we love you," Sarah says honestly. Ethan smiles in response, and Rory nods excitedly.

"Thanks," Benny mumbles. Erica gags.

"Are we all going to declare our love for Benny," she groans, "or are we actually going to play Mario Kart."

"Are you sure?" Ethan teases. "I think Benny has got mad enough, and it'd be even worse when he loses."

All eyes are on the spellmaster, who smiles smugly.

"You're on," he says with a smile and steely eyes.

"I call Princess Peach!" Sarah exclaims, raising her hand. Everyone audibly groans.

"Do you want to hear my Yoshi impression? I ca—"

"Fuck off, Rory," everyone laughs, and Rory rolls his eyes playfully as they begin to boot up the game while the sun died out behind them.

* * *

 **~ a note from the author ~**

 **wanted to write a little story. most of it was written past 12 am, which makes it just as authentic to be honest :P i consider it to be a slightly dramatized version of the song "la vie en rose", which is about experiencing life through a rose-tinted lense, aka love, and i figured that couldn't** _ **always**_ **be a good thing.**

 **and it's funny because this was going to be an angsty one shot, but ended up as a funny one shot. of course, there is some angst because i can't seem to have funny without angst nowadays, lol :P**

 **also: this is the most realism i've ever done in the mbav universe...i think? not to be cocky, but i think i did these characters justice (for once, lol).**

 **but yeah! i hope you liked it. i had a lot of fun writing it. it's been a long time since i wrote a funny story, so i hope you enjoy that :D and i swear this is the last cupid-like-spell-themed story :')**

 ** _să păstreze cu privire la păstrarea pe (romanian ^-^)_**


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